A former military police sergeant surnamed Hsu (許) was indicted yesterday on charges of leaking classified documents and accepting bribes to an organization suspected to be affiliated with Chinese intelligence.
Military police should be held to a higher moral standard, as their job is to maintain military discipline, curtail the actions of the military and carry out martial law, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in the indictment.
That a member of the corps would give up their loyalty to their country for minute gains disgraces the military and negatively affects public morale, the prosecutors’ office said.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
As the defendant pleaded guilty during the investigation, and if he also pleads guilty in court and turns in all illicit proceeds, prosecutors would be amenable to requesting a reduced sentence of six years, following provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), it said.
Hsu, 23, went into debt after purchasing a cellphone, a scooter and other household utilities last year, and searched online for finance companies to secure a loan, it said, citing a source.
During the process, Hsu was targeted by a scammer organization, which used his account to launder money, it said.
The office subpoenaed the account and questioned Hsu, it said.
The 202nd Military Police Corps Command Headquarters, commonly known as the Taipei Military Police division, launched an internal investigation after learning of the subpoena.
Military police investigators determined that Hsu had been invited into a Telegram chat group named Wolunghui (臥龍會) run by an unregistered money lender, the prosecutors’ office said.
The Wolunghui group was apparently affiliated with Chinese intelligence, as its core tenet was “stop war, prevent war, maintain peace,” the prosucutors’ office said, adding that the group required members to periodically upload pictures that would “be of use during a war,” and promised cash rewards for members who provided sensitive or classified information.
Hsu made a short video stating that he was against Taiwanese independence and sent information about his military service to an administrator of the group known as “Gucci,” who is suspected to be a Chinese intelligence officer, it said.
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